Remember back in 1978, 1979 even if a single didn't make the top 40 - it still probably sold a lot more than the records in today's lower end of the Top 40 charts!! ;-)
no, singles sales now are higher than the late 70s.
Yes, singles sales are higher now than they were in 1979. The market actually peaked in 2013, and this year is about 13% down on 2013 so far.
The reason for higher sales now is downloads, and the fact that there is so much product to choose from. Back in 1979, you could only choose from the singles you found on sale at the shop; maybe 300 different titles. Nowadays, in a typical week, up to 100,000 different titles rack up at least one sale.
At the moment, the average number 1 single sells about 100,000 copies per week.
Back in 1979, the average number 1 single sold more like 120,000 copies per week.
At the moment, the average number 40 single sells about 7,000 copies per week,
Back in 1979, the average number 40 single sold more like 10,000 copies per week.
But since digital download stock never runs out, the singles all carry on selling for a much longer time; often for years after they were released. So in the end, today's number 1 singles will eventually rack up a total that will surpass many of those number 1s from 1979. Those which peak in the lower end of the Top 40 will usually get forgotten far more quickly and stop selling more rapidly.
Can we say that Motorhead single-handedly invented the whole speed metal/death metal genre? It certainly sounded like nothing I had ever heard before at the time.
Yes. A hybrid of punk and Lemmy's former outfit, Hawkwind - Lemmy having done the lead vocals on 'Silver Machine' … ;-) :cool:
Motorhead were the real thing - unlike so many of their counterparts.
Shame Motorhead were cut out the early showing, one of the best songs on there last night. They were so different to anything else around at that time! Also, I found myself liking the song by the Leyton Buzzards. Interesting to hear the lead singer went on to bigger success with Modern Romance,
Cliff must've still had a big enough fan base buying his albums to keep him going - or I'm sure he would've just faded away...
Remember back in 1978, 1979 even if a single didn't make the top 40 - it still probably sold a lot more than the records in today's lower end of the Top 40 charts!! ;-)
Just had a thought - at the time of last night's TOTP, Sid was dead, but prior to this he had been arrested on suspicion of murdering Nancy. Because of his death he was never put on trial and found guilty. But the same applied to Savile. So where is all the uproar in today's newspapers about BBC showing "Something Else" last night??? (And looking back very odd that the BBC played it at the time. "This guy's a suspected murderer, never mind, it's all good clean fun family entertainment" )
Missed last night's 7:30 showing (again) but managed to catch the late night repeat.
Going against the majority, I really like Everybody's Happy Nowadays by Buzzcocks. I also like the cover by Ash and Chris Martin on the Shaun Of The Dead soundtrack.
Would I be right in thinking the Leyton Buzzards, or the lead singer at least, was trying to emulate Ian Dury & The Blockheads but not really managing it?
The Bristol Stomp. Jesus.
Clift Richard's 'Green Light'. Not actually that bad a song, but not terribly inspiring either. He definitely had his own camera angle crib sheet at TOTP. It's practically the same format every time. I just have a vision of Robin Nash saying in the gallery, "Ok everyone, in Cliff position. Tape ready and...go."
On a completely separate note, I'm doing a charity thing next month. I'll be going round all 270 London Underground stations in one day and I'm raising money for homeless charity Thames Reach. If you're at all able and wish to donate then please click on my profile on the left and you'll find my JustGiving page there.
Would I be right in thinking the Leyton Buzzards, or the lead singer at least, was trying to emulate Ian Dury & The Blockheads but not really managing it?
I thought there was quite a lot of Ray Davies about him - the song was actually not unlike some of the lesser Britpop acts of the mid-90s, heavy on the Mockney accents.
Back to Motorhead, even now it sounds like they must have added something very refreshing and vital to rock music at the time - especially seeing some of the dog-eared rock bands we've seen recently (Nazareth spring to mind)
They got Barry Gibb to go and make the 'boom' sound into the mic by making a noise with his hands over his mouth - for ages I always thought it was some expensive effect!
Likewise on OMD's 'Joan Of Arc', thought they'd hired a choir, but it was just Andy McClusky making the high pitch choral effects at the beginning and end.
Tonight's episode was a bit hit or miss - it's strange as I love loads of songs from 1979, but have heard very few so far!
Joan Of Arc - excellent IMO. Re not heard many tracks - remember we are missing weeks re Yewtree, and only in March.
I would love to know what the attitude of Cliff Richard was in spring 1979 when yet another of his records, Green Light, had failed miserably, despite not being too bad, and following on from the disaster that was 1978 for him. He must have begun to think his already long charting career was finally up.
What is fascinating is that at this point in 1979, We Don't Talk Anymore had not even been recorded. So clearly after Green Light failed to even make Top 50 over the next few weeks of 1979, some serious heads must have got to work. We Don't Talk Anymore was only recorded on 29th May 1979, written by Bruce Welch & Alan Tarney. It even made the American Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten at No7, in a country which Cliff singularly failed to crack.
I thought there was quite a lot of Ray Davies about him - the song was actually not unlike some of the lesser Britpop acts of the mid-90s, heavy on the Mockney accents.
Back to Motorhead, even now it sounds like they must have added something very refreshing and vital to rock music at the time - especially seeing some of the dog-eared rock bands we've seen recently (Nazareth spring to mind)
Despite them getting ripped on here recently, I fair enjoyed May The Sun Shine.
This reminds me of a post I made a few months ago, when I considered whether an act selling 1,000,000 copies of a single on download in 2013/2014 could seriously be considered the same as an act selling 1,000,000 copies of a single on vinyl in 1978/1979. Most people, including myself would equate going out and buying a physical vinyl single in a shop as more meaningful than downloading an invisible song sat at home.
I thought there was quite a lot of Ray Davies about him - the song was actually not unlike some of the lesser Britpop acts of the mid-90s, heavy on the Mockney accents.
Back to Motorhead, even now it sounds like they must have added something very refreshing and vital to rock music at the time - especially seeing some of the dog-eared rock bands we've seen recently (Nazareth spring to mind)
Presuming you are talking about the lead singer of Leyton Buzzards here, and when I saw him again on the late night showing I was struck by how much he seemed to look like Simon Le Bon from the 1982-5 period with the hairstyle, which was especially reminiscent of that period in the 1980's.
Missed last night's 7:30 showing (again) but managed to catch the late night repeat.
Going against the majority, I really like Everybody's Happy Nowadays by Buzzcocks. I also like the cover by Ash and Chris Martin on the Shaun Of The Dead soundtrack.
Would I be right in thinking the Leyton Buzzards, or the lead singer at least, was trying to emulate Ian Dury & The Blockheads but not really managing it?
The Bristol Stomp. Jesus.
Clift Richard's 'Green Light'. Not actually that bad a song, but not terribly inspiring either. He definitely had his own camera angle crib sheet at TOTP. It's practically the same format every time. I just have a vision of Robin Nash saying in the gallery, "Ok everyone, in Cliff position. Tape ready and...go."
On a completely separate note, I'm doing a charity thing next month. I'll be going round all 270 London Underground stations in one day and I'm raising money for homeless charity Thames Reach. If you're at all able and wish to donate then please click on my profile on the left and you'll find my JustGiving page there.
Cheers.
Interesting post. Good luck going around the London Underground. All in one day? That is more than 10 stations an hour even if you do a full 24 hour day.
As for Cliff, I loved that performance of Green Light. That's as far as you will get with Cliff Richard giving it serious attitude! :cool:
I thought there was quite a lot of Ray Davies about him - the song was actually not unlike some of the lesser Britpop acts of the mid-90s, heavy on the Mockney accents.
BIB - ten year old Damon Albarn was probably taking notes.
After his spell with Modern Romance the lead singer of the Leyton Buzzards, Geoffrey Deane went on to become a successful script writer for TV sitcoms including 'Birds of a Feather', 'Chef' (starring Lenny Henry) and 'Babes in the Wood' (with Karl Howman and Samantha Janus) although I have seen his name appear in the credits of several others.
Rich Tea compared him to Simon Le Bon in his youthful prime:
Didn't realise Lemmy did the vocals on that - another superb track from the decade.
Have you not seen the film made specially by the BBC at a gig in Dunstable in July 1972 to promote 'Silver Machine' on TOTP after Hawkwind refused to appear in the studio:
The single was recorded live at the Roundhouse in London in February 1972 with co-writer Robert Calvert on lead vocals, but they were nowhere near strong enough, and as Calvert was unavailable, each member of the band took it in turns to have a go at singing the track in the studio. Lemmy was the band's last choice as he was the "new boy" (having only joined the band in December 1971) but no one else could hit the high notes so at the end of the day Lemmy's voice was dubbed over the pre-recorded live backing track.
Having listened to a sample of the original version sung by Robert Calvert (available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Machine) it is inconceivable IMO that 'Silver Machine' would have become a Top 3 hit and/or Tony Blackburn would have made it his 'Record of the Week' had Lemmy not stepped up to the plate.
Yes, singles sales are higher now than they were in 1979. The market actually peaked in 2013, and this year is about 13% down on 2013 so far.
The reason for higher sales now is downloads, and the fact that there is so much product to choose from. Back in 1979, you could only choose from the singles you found on sale at the shop; maybe 300 different titles. Nowadays, in a typical week, up to 100,000 different titles rack up at least one sale.
But since digital download stock never runs out, the singles all carry on selling for a much longer time; often for years after they were released. So in the end, today's number 1 singles will eventually rack up a total that will surpass many of those number 1s from 1979. Those which peak in the lower end of the Top 40 will usually get forgotten far more quickly and stop selling more rapidly.
Yes - I forgot about downloads!
At least with downloads any song from any period can hit the charts now! Not just the modern rubbish!
This reminds me of a post I made a few months ago, when I considered whether an act selling 1,000,000 copies of a single on download in 2013/2014 could seriously be considered the same as an act selling 1,000,000 copies of a single on vinyl in 1978/1979. Most people, including myself would equate going out and buying a physical vinyl single in a shop as more meaningful than downloading an invisible song sat at home.
To add, a single these days is much much cheaper in real terms than in 1978/9.
Missed last night's 7:30 showing (again) but managed to catch the late night repeat.
Going against the majority, I really like Everybody's Happy Nowadays by Buzzcocks. I also like the cover by Ash and Chris Martin on the Shaun Of The Dead soundtrack.
Would I be right in thinking the Leyton Buzzards, or the lead singer at least, was trying to emulate Ian Dury & The Blockheads but not really managing it?
The Bristol Stomp. Jesus.
Clift Richard's 'Green Light'. Not actually that bad a song, but not terribly inspiring either. He definitely had his own camera angle crib sheet at TOTP. It's practically the same format every time. I just have a vision of Robin Nash saying in the gallery, "Ok everyone, in Cliff position. Tape ready and...go."
On a completely separate note, I'm doing a charity thing next month. I'll be going round all 270 London Underground stations in one day and I'm raising money for homeless charity Thames Reach. If you're at all able and wish to donate then please click on my profile on the left and you'll find my JustGiving page there.
Cheers.
Homeless charities are one charity I support.
If there is a way of texting I may donate that way.
I also think the singer of the Leyton Buzzards looked 80s in his cropped jacket and baggy trousers as well as his hair. I always though the song would have been better if it had been played twice as fast. It always seemed too slow to me but was basically a decentish song.
I loved the Buzzcocks. It's not their best song but I always liked the stop-start structure of the guitar parts. Oliver's Army was fantastic and now I know what the hell it's about I like it even more because I understand the lyrics better. I thought the reggae tune was okay - Dennis Brown had a nice voice. The Real Thing didn't punch its way out of the speakers like on the radio but maybe it was the curse of the BBC Orchestra? I didn't realise they were a Liverpool band but I have been in Liverpool for work and saw their name on the Lambanana statue with all the band names and portraits painted on it. Bloody good tune anyway.
The rest were okay I suppose. I can't wait for the fifties revivalists to sod off though. Even the Pistols as I was never a fan.
People must've had lots of money to buy singles every other week then! I remember my "Heart of Glass" single was about a pound (or maybe 99p) - but at the time, I never thought it was too pricey even for a nine year old! ;-)
I would love to know what the attitude of Cliff Richard was in spring 1979 when yet another of his records, Green Light, had failed miserably, despite not being too bad, and following on from the disaster that was 1978 for him. He must have begun to think his already long charting career was finally up.
What is fascinating is that at this point in 1979, We Don't Talk Anymore had not even been recorded. So clearly after Green Light failed to even make Top 50 over the next few weeks of 1979, some serious heads must have got to work. We Don't Talk Anymore was only recorded on 29th May 1979, written by Bruce Welch & Alan Tarney. It even made the American Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten at No7, in a country which Cliff singularly failed to crack.
Cliff would have been very worried. Singles were selling more than ever and his were not after a brief revival in 1976. Cliff worries about chart positions. Fact was he used good writers (Kenny Loggins) (John Farrar) but he did not always get their best songs. While his sound had modernised on material of five years earlier like Help It Along or Take Me High, he was not quite there.
There would have been no need to worry because even had he not had the big revival he was still selling bucketloads of albums, but he was not connecting with the mass audience and with younger people--and he was pushing forty. Yet he was still a huge star.
It was a case of if you try at first and don't succeed then try try and try again. Within a year he'd be back to regular hits. Roll on Cliff.:)
Just had a thought - at the time of last night's TOTP, Sid was dead, but prior to this he had been arrested on suspicion of murdering Nancy. Because of his death he was never put on trial and found guilty. But the same applied to Savile. So where is all the uproar in today's newspapers about BBC showing "Something Else" last night??? (And looking back very odd that the BBC played it at the time. "This guy's a suspected murderer, never mind, it's all good clean fun family entertainment" )
Good point!
Plus - on the same theme - how come when everyone talks about how outrageous The Sex Pistols were they never mention Sid or edit him from the music shows? Just Yewtree suspects!
Comments
no, singles sales now are higher than the late 70s.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/10169180/Hit-singles-are-making-the-world-go-round-again.html
They are are in strange wild and wacky phase either that or they were tripping on LSD when they came up with the routines.
Actually, you're both right to a degree.
Yes, singles sales are higher now than they were in 1979. The market actually peaked in 2013, and this year is about 13% down on 2013 so far.
The reason for higher sales now is downloads, and the fact that there is so much product to choose from. Back in 1979, you could only choose from the singles you found on sale at the shop; maybe 300 different titles. Nowadays, in a typical week, up to 100,000 different titles rack up at least one sale.
At the moment, the average number 1 single sells about 100,000 copies per week.
Back in 1979, the average number 1 single sold more like 120,000 copies per week.
At the moment, the average number 40 single sells about 7,000 copies per week,
Back in 1979, the average number 40 single sold more like 10,000 copies per week.
But since digital download stock never runs out, the singles all carry on selling for a much longer time; often for years after they were released. So in the end, today's number 1 singles will eventually rack up a total that will surpass many of those number 1s from 1979. Those which peak in the lower end of the Top 40 will usually get forgotten far more quickly and stop selling more rapidly.
Yes. A hybrid of punk and Lemmy's former outfit, Hawkwind - Lemmy having done the lead vocals on 'Silver Machine' … ;-) :cool:
Motorhead were the real thing - unlike so many of their counterparts.
Deleted
After the trouble Cliff had with "Honky Tonk Angel" you think he may have been more careful than sing about coloured lights!
Going against the majority, I really like Everybody's Happy Nowadays by Buzzcocks. I also like the cover by Ash and Chris Martin on the Shaun Of The Dead soundtrack.
Would I be right in thinking the Leyton Buzzards, or the lead singer at least, was trying to emulate Ian Dury & The Blockheads but not really managing it?
The Bristol Stomp. Jesus.
Clift Richard's 'Green Light'. Not actually that bad a song, but not terribly inspiring either. He definitely had his own camera angle crib sheet at TOTP. It's practically the same format every time. I just have a vision of Robin Nash saying in the gallery, "Ok everyone, in Cliff position. Tape ready and...go."
On a completely separate note, I'm doing a charity thing next month. I'll be going round all 270 London Underground stations in one day and I'm raising money for homeless charity Thames Reach. If you're at all able and wish to donate then please click on my profile on the left and you'll find my JustGiving page there.
Cheers.
I thought there was quite a lot of Ray Davies about him - the song was actually not unlike some of the lesser Britpop acts of the mid-90s, heavy on the Mockney accents.
Back to Motorhead, even now it sounds like they must have added something very refreshing and vital to rock music at the time - especially seeing some of the dog-eared rock bands we've seen recently (Nazareth spring to mind)
Yeah - :cool:
Joan Of Arc - excellent IMO. Re not heard many tracks - remember we are missing weeks re Yewtree, and only in March.
Excellent. ;-)
Agree - Night Owl's a great track.
Think Wired For Sound is one of his top tracks.
Didn't realise Lemmy did the vocals on that - another superb track from the decade.
Despite them getting ripped on here recently, I fair enjoyed May The Sun Shine.
Possibly because with all the cutbacks they can no longer afford to pay to show Soul Train material.
This reminds me of a post I made a few months ago, when I considered whether an act selling 1,000,000 copies of a single on download in 2013/2014 could seriously be considered the same as an act selling 1,000,000 copies of a single on vinyl in 1978/1979. Most people, including myself would equate going out and buying a physical vinyl single in a shop as more meaningful than downloading an invisible song sat at home.
Presuming you are talking about the lead singer of Leyton Buzzards here, and when I saw him again on the late night showing I was struck by how much he seemed to look like Simon Le Bon from the 1982-5 period with the hairstyle, which was especially reminiscent of that period in the 1980's.
Interesting post. Good luck going around the London Underground. All in one day? That is more than 10 stations an hour even if you do a full 24 hour day.
As for Cliff, I loved that performance of Green Light. That's as far as you will get with Cliff Richard giving it serious attitude! :cool:
BIB - ten year old Damon Albarn was probably taking notes.
After his spell with Modern Romance the lead singer of the Leyton Buzzards, Geoffrey Deane went on to become a successful script writer for TV sitcoms including 'Birds of a Feather', 'Chef' (starring Lenny Henry) and 'Babes in the Wood' (with Karl Howman and Samantha Janus) although I have seen his name appear in the credits of several others.
Rich Tea compared him to Simon Le Bon in his youthful prime:
http://www.recordstore.it/media/22-ottobre-2007/geoffrey-deane/img.jpg
... but these days he looks more like a member of ZZ Top:
http://qph.is.quoracdn.net/main-thumb-27530665-200-6d0SdBERSXuzLpVZqVNHdyoOqQAPlReL.jpeg
Have you not seen the film made specially by the BBC at a gig in Dunstable in July 1972 to promote 'Silver Machine' on TOTP after Hawkwind refused to appear in the studio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYv2n-hRsa0
The single was recorded live at the Roundhouse in London in February 1972 with co-writer Robert Calvert on lead vocals, but they were nowhere near strong enough, and as Calvert was unavailable, each member of the band took it in turns to have a go at singing the track in the studio. Lemmy was the band's last choice as he was the "new boy" (having only joined the band in December 1971) but no one else could hit the high notes so at the end of the day Lemmy's voice was dubbed over the pre-recorded live backing track.
Having listened to a sample of the original version sung by Robert Calvert (available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Machine) it is inconceivable IMO that 'Silver Machine' would have become a Top 3 hit and/or Tony Blackburn would have made it his 'Record of the Week' had Lemmy not stepped up to the plate.
Yes - I forgot about downloads!
At least with downloads any song from any period can hit the charts now! Not just the modern rubbish!
To add, a single these days is much much cheaper in real terms than in 1978/9.
Homeless charities are one charity I support.
If there is a way of texting I may donate that way.
I loved the Buzzcocks. It's not their best song but I always liked the stop-start structure of the guitar parts. Oliver's Army was fantastic and now I know what the hell it's about I like it even more because I understand the lyrics better. I thought the reggae tune was okay - Dennis Brown had a nice voice. The Real Thing didn't punch its way out of the speakers like on the radio but maybe it was the curse of the BBC Orchestra? I didn't realise they were a Liverpool band but I have been in Liverpool for work and saw their name on the Lambanana statue with all the band names and portraits painted on it. Bloody good tune anyway.
The rest were okay I suppose. I can't wait for the fifties revivalists to sod off though. Even the Pistols as I was never a fan.
Unsure exactly what a single cost in March 1979, but an educated guess I will say an exact £1.
£1 single in 1979 = £4.30p today.
£1 download today = 23p in 1979.
People must've had lots of money to buy singles every other week then! I remember my "Heart of Glass" single was about a pound (or maybe 99p) - but at the time, I never thought it was too pricey even for a nine year old! ;-)
Cliff would have been very worried. Singles were selling more than ever and his were not after a brief revival in 1976. Cliff worries about chart positions. Fact was he used good writers (Kenny Loggins) (John Farrar) but he did not always get their best songs. While his sound had modernised on material of five years earlier like Help It Along or Take Me High, he was not quite there.
There would have been no need to worry because even had he not had the big revival he was still selling bucketloads of albums, but he was not connecting with the mass audience and with younger people--and he was pushing forty. Yet he was still a huge star.
It was a case of if you try at first and don't succeed then try try and try again. Within a year he'd be back to regular hits. Roll on Cliff.:)
Good point!
Plus - on the same theme - how come when everyone talks about how outrageous The Sex Pistols were they never mention Sid or edit him from the music shows? Just Yewtree suspects!